Field reports from the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) observers across Anambra State indicate widespread incidents of vote trading in today’s off-cycle election. Despite repeated warnings from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the visible presence of security personnel, several polling units recorded voters being approached with cash and food items in exchange for their ballots.
At Community Primary School, Achalla (Polling Units 003 and 004) in Awka North, agents alleged to belong to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) were observed canvassing for votes while offering ₦10,000 per voter. Some voters were later seen leaving the premises with 10kg bags of rice distributed during the voting process.
At Igbariam Health Centre, Ward 5, Polling Unit 10, observers documented a similar trend, with Young Progressives Party (YPP) agents allegedly distributing ₦10,000 to some voters and ₦5,000 to others.
In another incident, a video obtained by a media platform captured a woman at Central School Utuh being accompanied into the cubicle by a party agent – an outright violation of electoral rules. The agent was overheard asking “Ego ole?” (“How much?”). When confronted by INEC officials, he responded, “She is the one who asked me to accompany her, and I have every right to follow her.”
These incidents were not isolated. CJID observers reported similar occurrences across multiple polling units, including Igwebueze Primary Schools 1–3, Central School Ezira, Ezira Town Hall, Onitsha North, and other locations. In some areas, frustrated residents expressed anger and threatened to disrupt voting as they waited to collect their expected payments from party agents.
In a disturbing twist, party representatives have introduced what appears to be a transaction verification system where voters are now required to show proof that they cast their ballot for a specific party before receiving payment. The large number of agents stationed at each unit has made this crude “accountability” mechanism possible.
As far as vote trading is concerned, Anambra is just one example of this growing, nationwide threat to Nigeria’s democracy. In 2024, CJID documented similar patterns while assessing citizens’ perceptions during the Edo and Ondo gubernatorial elections, surveying voters to capture their experiences and insights on the electoral process. CJIDs survey revealed that cash and food handouts were widespread, with many voters acknowledging that such inducements influenced their decision to participate in the elections or vote for a particular candidate. The report also noted that while many citizens view vote buying as unethical, the practice is often normalised due to poverty and low civic awareness. Similarly, during the general elections in February 2023, CJID’s observers documented numerous instances of voters being offered cash, food items, and other inducements in exchange for their votes. Just as in Anambra, the report highlighted that these practices were not isolated incidents but occurred across several regions, underscoring a systemic issue in the electoral process. Party agents were often seen actively engaging with voters, sometimes providing small sums of money or essential commodities immediately before voting, in a clear attempt to influence electoral outcomes.
Several structural and social factors continue to make vote trading a persistent feature of Nigeria’s elections.
Poverty and immediate need remain central drivers. For many citizens struggling with daily survival, the short-term benefits of a few thousand naira or a bag of food items often far outweigh the abstract promises of good governance or development. The widespread sentiment is that these handouts are most likely the only benefits citizens will ever gain from elected officials. Weak enforcement compounds the problem. Although Nigeria’s electoral laws prohibit vote buying, the absence of consistent prosecution emboldens political actors to continue the practice with little fear of consequence.
Finally, broker networks – local intermediaries who mobilise voters on behalf of parties – have become commonplace since the passage of the 2022 Electoral Act and have institutionalised the practice. These agents serve as intermediaries between politicians and communities, ensuring that inducements reach targeted voters in exchange for loyalty at the polls.
Vote buying is illegal under Nigeria’s Electoral Act 2022. Sections 127 and 56 clearly prohibit offering money or gifts to influence voting or accompanying a voter into a cubicle without a valid reason. Offenders can face imprisonment for up to 2 years, fines, or both, and INEC guidelines reinforce these rules by providing for the prosecution of offenders and annulment of results in affected polling units. Yet, as our observers in Anambra have documented, these practices continue due to weak enforcement and systemic loopholes.
The persistence of vote trading across Nigeria, but particularly in Anambra’s gubernatorial elections, exposes how systemic impunity, voter desperation, and weak enforcement undermine the democratic process. While it rarely generates the same level of alarm as ballot snatching or violence, its long-term effects are equally corrosive. As CJID continues to document these grim incidences that have unfortunately turned our democracy into a marketplace, it has become clear that meaningful reform requires both robust enforcement and sustained civic education. Without addressing the structural drivers – poverty, social norms, and organised broker networks – vote trading will continue to distort electoral outcomes, erode public trust, and compromise citizens’ ability to make free and informed choices.
